Machines, such as grinders and chippers, are used for shredding, grinding, and/or chipping a variety of material. For the purposes of this disclosure, the preferred environment in which the principles of the invention are described is that of a grinder. Horizontal grinders and tub grinders are illustrative of grinder machines, and the example of a horizontal grinder will be used herein as a preferred environment in which the present invention may be employed. References herein to a horizontal grinder, however, are not intended to be limiting. Instead, the principles of the invention are generally applicable to machines which utilize a screen in connection with reducing larger-piece material into smaller-piece material.
Horizontal grinders generally include a grinding chamber and a grinding drum. The grinding drum rotates and includes hammers or blocks. Screens position material so that the material is forced into contact with the grinding drum until ground/reduced to a certain size. Once the material reduces to the certain size, the material passes through holes in the screen and exits out of the grinding chamber.
The ability to grind of a variety of different material is desirable, as the usefulness of grinding or chipping different material arises in a variety of applications. For instance, waste is often ground to increased the rate of decomposition, which is useful in landfill operations; wood waste is ground to produce mulch that is useful in landscaping applications; and asphalt is ground to promote recycling efforts.
Accordingly, providing a machine that can grind a variety of material, and that is easily adaptable would be advantageous. In addition, providing a machine that better accommodates for wear situations would allow operators to more effectively operate such machines. Improvement has been sought with respect to such machines, generally to better accommodate ease of use, ease of adaptability, and ease of maintenance.